Associated Press: Corrupt, or Just Lazy and Inept?

An Associated Press story of Sept 1 by David Rising includes the following statement about the surge of troops in Iraq: "U.S. deaths last month remained well below figures from last winter."

Welcome news for the Bush regime. Except for the fact that it isn't true. US military deaths in July and August were 79 and 81, respectively, compared to 83, 81, and 81, respectively, for Jan, Feb, and March. Last year the numbers for July and August were 43 and 65, respectively. The AP is either too lazy, too inept, or too corrupt to care about the truth.

UPDATE: The revised figure for US deaths in August is 84; not only isn't that "well below" the figures for Jan, Feb, and March, it's above them. Let's see if the AP issues a revised story.